The country's largest labor and employment firms enjoyed strong growth in 2018, thanks to high demand that has been spurred by litigation, new laws and regulations, multinational clients and the #MeToo era.

But each of the four top-grossing U.S. firms—Littler Mendelson; Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart; Jackson Lewis; and Fisher & Phillips—has relied on its own model for growth, ranging from differences in partnership structure and international strategy to the firms' specific practice priorities and investments in technology.

Revenue and Head Count Gains

With more than 1,000 lawyers, Littler is the largest of the four, followed by Ogletree, Jackson Lewis and Fisher Phillips.

Thomas Bender Thomas Bender

Tom Bender, the co-president of Littler with Jeremy Roth, said it was an “incredibly strong” year for the firm. “Financially it was very, very good. That may be even a bit of an understatement.”